The invention relates to a window system comprising a substantially rectangular frame structure having four corner sections and being adapted to be installed in a roof structure, and a bracket arrangement comprising a set of bracket units, each bracket unit including a base element mounted at each corner section of the frame structure. The invention furthermore relates to a method of installing a window system in a roof structure.
Such window systems are installed in many different roof structures under varying conditions. This applies both to the fastening of the window system itself to the subjacent or surrounding roof structure, and to its relation to other window systems which may be installed side-by-side or opposite the window system in question.
The installation of a single window may be cumbersome in itself. This fact has been elaborated on in the prior art, examples being published international application No. WO 88/04348, in which the window is anchored in the roof structure in the way that a number of angular mounting brackets are by one leg fastened to the side members of the window frame, and the window is then mounted in the roof opening and fastened by the second leg by screws to the subjacent roof structure, the rafters, the counter-battens or the battens. However, varying measurements have to be carried out in order to ascertain correct positioning, and the measuring is an obvious source of error and can be the reason for considerable delays during mounting, as an erroneous measuring implies that the mounting bracket has to be removed after the window has been mounted in the roof opening.
In published international application No. WO 99/35355, this problem has been addressed and solved in that the mounting bracket is formed as a corner fitting in which the first leg portion being formed as two leg sections essentially perpendicular to each other for connection with adjacent frame members at the joint hereof. This document furthermore provides for a solution to the positioning of the window next to and side-by-side other windows. However, even though this installation principle provide for a substantially increased ease of installation relative to the prior art, the mounting bracket disclosed in this document has a limited degree of flexibility with regards to its field of use.
An item of prior art concerned with the increase of flexibility is published international application No. WO 00/65171, in which a multipurpose fitting for connection of a frame structure of a panel with a support element is described. This document describes a progress over the prior art, in which particularly designed fittings for fixed panels are usually designed as support fittings with oblique sections defining the possible inclination of the panel, whereas in openable panels, the connection is made by especially designed hinge fittings, and solves the problem that fittings of this kind used in panels for construction of e.g. tilted surfaces must be produced in several various forms because of the structure of the known fittings, dependent on whether the panel is to be openable or fixed and on the inclination of the panel. By the multipurpose fitting of this document, the angle of inclination of the panels is adjusted by means of a separate mounting and hinge fitting, the support element can be produced as a standard product, and the adjustment of the fitting according to the desired inclination can be effected at any time, e.g. on the building site where the final mounting takes place. As the fittings further serve as hinge fittings of the openable panels, an additional standardization is obtained, as all panels can then be prepared for opening and only at a relatively late stage during the project is it necessary to decide whether the individual panel is to be openable or fixed.